Just to clear the record, I was at this show and in fact made this recording. and I must say that the China Cat/I Know You Rider jam was one of the high points of the show for me. I can absolutely vouch that this show is 100% Hollywood Bowl 6-17-72.

There are some tapes that I've come across labeled as this show ... They have a China Cat Sunflower Jam on them. The reason I believe that this tape got labeled as Pig Pen's last appearance is that this is the closest that the boys ever came to duplicating a complete set in 2 different shows. The tape that has the China Jam is definitely not the Hollywood Bowl show ... It is from the Pittsburgh, Pa. Stanley Theatre (currently called Benedum Center For The Performing Arts) show! Both shows rock ... enjoy!

I enjoyed all the reviews! Sounds like everybody had a good time at this show. I recently heard 6-17-72 on Sirius XM and it was a really good quality tape! The interplay between Jerry and Phil was incredible and I always enjoy hearing Bill carrying all the drum duties for the band. No offense to Mickey Hart, I jus think Kreutzmann is the perfect drummer for the Dead. I heard that show about July 20, 2015.

There's no China Cat Jam in NFA>GDTRFB>NFA. I have the complete recording and it's not there. They stopped doing that late 1971.

Wow, a cleaner copy of Pig's last show! If there's a way you can get that tape to Charlie Miller. he does magic...

This was my second Dead show, and I have to say also my favorite. I didn't know it was Pigpen's last show until quite sometime later. I had written to the Hollywood Bowl ticket office and requested Box 52, and they gave it to me! How about that for hitting the lotto. So I had front row center seats.

I taped this show, but my tape is NOT the one that has been circulated. The problem is the tapes are somewhere in the garage, and I have to locate them. I will say this - Although the cassettes have degraded somewhat over the years, the quality is still MUCH better than the recording that is out there. I used a Sony portable cassette recorder (which at that that time was high quality) with a Shure vocal microphone attached. As soon as I can locate the tapes, I'm planning to share my copy. My tape is complete, including the encore of One More Saturday Night. My memory tells me that the only time I had to turn the tape over during a song was during the spacey part of "the Other One", and it was done very quickly with minimial loss. Other than that I have the complete show.
I used to have a whole bunch of great pictures of the band that night, including Pigpen behind the B-3, but unfortunately they were destroyed by mice in storage. My brother threw them all out so I never got to see if there was anything salvagable. The sound at the concert right up front was just magnificent. Garcia was still using the tie dyed Fender Twin Reverb and the Strat with the champion spark plug sticker. Weir was playing his red ES-345, and Phil was using the old Guild hollowbody bass. This band with Pigpen on organ and the piano of Kieth Godchaux had a fullness that I haven't heard before or since. Too bad Pigpen wasn't up to singing that night. Time to tear the garage apart and find those tapes!

Yes, the sound is mostly hideous, but it comes and goes, occasionally becoming nearly listenable. Luckily, the Stella Blue sounds ok, and as noted below, a great(and unique) debut, wonderful Pigpen organ, and overall hard edged and driving, quite a contrast to the oh-so-many sleepy versions that were soon to come. A must-listen for Stella fans.

Both are correct .In fact Hunter wrote the words in 70 & Jerry the music on the Europe 72 tour

So a guy below was talking about the "watch the wires!" comment by Bobby Weir at 1:20 into Truckin'. The trouble going on that caused that was that there were a bunch of girls on stage who got up there and started whirl dancing around, and they were right between the band members and Bobby knew someone was going to trip on some wires and cause a problem, so next thing that happens is his mike went tumbling to the floor. I wrote the "hamradioman" review below. I haven't listened to this for years and catching this little part of the show again really cracked me up. Some are commenting about security at this show but I remember these freaky women getting up there and whirling around on stage like nobody cared that they got up there. What else about that show? Hmm.. Yea, first show in the States after Europe so the energy was high. I thought about this great show all day the next day while I was surfing down in Newport Beach. Great times folks. The sound live during this time in their careers was astounding, especially when they had just come off a little vacation time following their return to the states.

And watch out for those wires, you might trip.

I'd just like to make a correction as to when Stella Blue was written. One reviewer said it was written on the Europe tour. It was actually written at New York's Chelsea Hotel in 1970. Got this information from Hunter's book.

When was it confirmed that this is actually the missing (not in circulation) 2nd set of this show?

The sound and ambiance change that occurs into Truckin' (and afterwards) is considerable. Even the opening tracks (muffled aside) have the same background sound to them, as the rest of the songs do (up to C.J.)

I have a feeling that this is really a piece work set that is not the real thing.

Still 4 out of 5 for being able to hear Pig's last skyward beams on the keys (from the start to C.J. that is).

The search for Pigger's last performance(Rockin' Pneumonia)continues.

iirc, this was widely circulated as an FM broadcast...this was one of my first 'bootlegs', and at the beginning, weir said something to the effect of "i guess this is what you'd call 'dead air'"

it's ashame the NFA->GDTRFB->NFA gets cut as it was a real smoker, replete with the china cat jam

fun sounding show...sound quality starts poorly, but gets better...pig's organ actually is a nice complement, imo

edit: i'm on the second set now, and the sound quality is just about unbearable...sounds like the taper had the mic secreted in his rectum

Sad to think that we would never be graced with Pigpen's presence after this performance. The show here is pretty good in spite of the serious sound issues. I'd say listen to the Stella for it's being the 1st ever (and a sweet version at that) and stick to the April and May '72 shows to really remember Pig by.

This was my first Dead show. I was 18 and still in HS. I went with a friend that had introduced me to the Dead. We had dinner at a Hollywood restaurant near the Bowl. We attempted to share some sunshine in a coke but I got the last gulp and away I went!

We were in the second large section of seats and we rushed the stage when the Dead came out. I held onto a rail cause that was all I could do. I was off in the stratosphere and the band was incredible! Of course this recording doesn't do the show justice, but what a night!

I kept holding onto that rail, trying not to float over the crowd. I looked up and saw something like a cauldron with a big block of brown wax in it. I became the wax and was melting. When that became too much I looked elsewhere and numbers were pulsating in the air to the beat of the music and it was really freaky. I was looking at the band and Weir's face in particular, sweating and all white and glowing screaming into the mic.

I didn't know this was Pigpens last show. I was too stoned to notice him :(. The vibe at the show was pretty amazing. I got some pretty weird looks as I remember leaving the show. I guess I looked pretty wierd and totally spaced out.

Though the quality of the recording poor I still have to give this the highest rating, you had to be there to appreciate it!

Peace out!

Hey Now,

I'll be remastering this show sometime in the not too distant future. I doubt it will improve terribly much, but I'm fairly certain I can get it in an audible condition. Shoot me an e-mail if you have the desire.

Would absolutely love to hear the missing tunes from this show. Was a great from what's there. The Stella Blue is totally sweet, worth the time just for that. But the whole 1st set is swinging.
Enjoy, enjoy!

Peace,
Audiohead22
audiophilehead@hotmail.com

worth listening to. It's a special and unique first version.
maybe download this for filler somewhere else. First half of the show is pretty good sounds, Playin is a hot version. The sound on the second set is degraded but it was a good show.

The heavy handed security was courtesy of the UCLA football team. They did too good of a job keeping folks in their seats. After bearing though the NRPS on a hard bench $4 seat girlfriend and I decided to move forward. It was as if the sea parted, we walked straight to an empty front row center box seat and remained for the rest of the show.
Recording doesn't do the show justice.

Dead Base suggests the 2nd set (from Truckin on) is really 11.20.71.

Anyone disagree?

I have just started my download and did not notice that the show appears to be incomplete. I have not listened to it yet so I am hoping that some of the tunes will be there. Rated a 3 until I find out if they are all there.

I got all pumped up for a few months listening to the 10-04-70 show and the 7-2-71 show on bootleg vinyls, and when this show came around my buddies and myself decided to go to this show. Wow, it blew us away. The venue was awesome, being my first time at the Hollywood Bowl. It was really strange, because there were alot of empty seats there, and behind the seating was a grassy area where we layed out blankets, chairs and sleeping bags to watch the show from. Like a bunch of idiots, we arrived late during the last two songs NRPS did.

I found the playlist of this show a few years back and it really jarred my memory. I always wanted to find a tape of this show, so when I found this it was really great even though the quality of this is not good. However, hearing it was really strange because it is exactly how I remember it including some of the things said between numbers, and of course the playlist and energy and fun the band was having was obvious. Alot of the jamming done was in a 3 man "huddle", and many of the 3 part harmonies were sung with Garcia, Lesh and Wier singing into a single mike. It was obious they enjoyed the night.

All except Pigpen, that is. We anticipated and wanted to see Piggers do his numbers, but after a few songs it was obvious something was wrong. For most of the show he was slumped over nodded out and not moving at all. A few times one of the band members would bump him to wake him up, but not much action at all out of Ron. Too bad. Next show I saw in November at Long Beach, Wier said Pigpen was very sick and couldn't be there. Having said that, I didn't know this was Pigpen's last show until I read it on one of the deadlists somewhere. Wow, what a deal. I'm glad I was there. This was a great show to be at and I'll never forget the quality of the sound there and the energy. We talked about it for weeks afterwards. I rated this 5 stars only because I saw the show and it was a 5 star show. Hey, at least something was left behind of this memorable event.

Here's a place where we'd really benefit from the ability to give two ratings: one for the show, one for the sound quality. This one could be 4 stars for the music, but only 1 or 2 (being generous) for the sound.

I agree that this is mostly unlistenable. Sounds like the taper was hiding the mics in his pocket or something. Listened to the first 2 songs, jumped to the SB just to hear the very first, said a small prayer for Pig and shut it off. Just bad sound IMO.

The *only* Stella Blue with PigPen playing on it. It's just some organ chords behind Jerry's vocal, but an interesting combination none-the-less. Other first performances often sound immature and tentative, but this first performance of Stella Blue is fully developed, as if they had been touring with it all year.

As the marker for the end of the Ron Mckernen Era, this concert has historical and sentimental value. But Pigpen's final gig is actually a good concert. There are a lot of great shows in 1972, so this one doesn't stand out as exceptional. But it's better than many shows played 10 years later, and most of those from 20 years later.

A good jam in Playing in the Band, which usually was good in this period. Bob is in good vocal form on Black Throated Wind, in an energetic Beat It and others. Jerry gives nice vocal and guitar renderings on Loser and others.

Also notable is an interesting Other One. There are several quiet sections that aren't space, but have a Sage & Spirit (Blues for Allah) feel, and a quiet jazzy feel at others times, building and subsiding several times before going back into the Other theme and then into space.

Sound--yep, the show sounds like it came from a microphone in the audiance, and has occasional skips and annoying audiance talking (it starts out really bad, but improves). I sure do wish we had a good copy.

This is unlistenable (I listened to it anyway) with some serious tech defects and sound degradation - that said, listen to the playin on it. Sorry Pig I still love you + we share the same birthday so I will be thinking of you.

in the love of pig pen this one must, must be downloaded. now.

Great version of Stella Blue, in fact this was the first time it was played (written on the Europe '72 tour). This was Pigpen's last show and he played the organ for SB. Great show. If not for the show, download it in Pig's memory.

good show. definite sentimental value. recording quality about average for audience recording of that vintage.

re: the following footnote
- Starting around 1:00 into Truckin' something causes trouble and Bob Weir
tells someone to "watch the wires!" at 1:32 into Truckin'

i had always remembered this as happening during el paso but appears it was truckin'. Hollywood Bowl would put a wood deck over stagefront fountain for rock concerts. there were a couple of small children (band or crew family) playing with a beach ball in front of the band. one of them (looked to be a pre-schooler) was running for the ball and tripped over a wire. Bobby lunged forward in vain attempt to catch the kid (who kept on playing unhurt) and knocked his microphone stand over.

Pigpen didn't sing despite requests from crowd. Bobby explained that he wasn't feeling too good. It was only years later I found out it was his final show.

Security at this show consisted of 20-something age jocks who at one point actually started a fight.

Pigpen's last show (he doesn't sing). As far as AUD's go, this one isn't too bad and captures some of these moments quite well, though still leaves more to be desired. B/B- (1st Stella Blue)